Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Slay Your Dragons Before Breakfast!
By Michael Hyatt michaelhyatt.com
I awoke this morning to the dragon’s hot breath on my face. I was disoriented, not quite knowing where I was. I struggled to open one eye. Then another.
And there he was. A dragon. A very big dragon. With three heads. Sitting in my bedroom, like so many mornings before, he was waiting. His heads swerved back and forth, dancing in the dim light. Each head alternately belching fire and hissing smoke.
I groaned. Here we go again, I thought. If only I could shut my eyes and will him away. No such luck. His presence only grew more menacing.
I knew that I had to act. I leapt from the bed and ran straight at him. I have learned by experience that my only chance at victory is to slay the dragon while it is still dark. Before the first rays of sunshine strengthen his already substantial advantage.
Fortunately, once again I prevailed. But my victory is short-lived. I will face him again tomorrow. And the day after that.
Although this sounds like a fairy tale, it’s not. It’s my reality, day after day.
I face a dragon named Lethargy every morning. It has three heads: Pneuma (spiritual), Soma (physical), and Nous (intellectual).
If I don’t slay this dragon before breakfast, he usually gets the best of me. After breakfast—when the day’s activities are crowding into my life—my chances of doing battle and winning drop dramatically. Sometimes I can emerge victorious. But rarely.
My chances are better if I get in my basic disciplines before I get assaulted with the demands of the workday.
So, before breakfast, I complete the following:
1. Read the Bible. I use this weapon to cut off the dragon’s middle head. I don’t know why it is so hard to defeat, but it is. A thousand and one distractions vie for my attention. That’s why I grab a cup of fresh tea, head to my favorite den chair, and begin reading at once. The Scriptures prime the pump and strengthen my resolve. If I can cut off the middle head of spiritual lethargy, the other two go down much easier. Currently, I am reading through the Bible in a year.
2. Engage in exercise. I use this weapon to cut off the dragon’s left head: physical lethargy. Sometimes, I think this is even more important than the middle head. Why? Because if I am not exercising regularly, it negatively impacts every other area of my life. It becomes more difficult to manage stress. I find that I just don’t have the energy to fight the other beasts I encounter. Currently, I am doing cardio four mornings a week for one hour and strength training two days a week for one hour. Weather permitting, I run outside. Otherwise, I am in the gym. Gail and I usually go together. It’s helpful to have an accountability partner.
3. Listen to books. I use this weapon to cut off the dragon’s right head: intellectual lethargy. I learned a long time ago that “leaders read and readers lead.” By definition a leader (as opposed to a mere manager) stays out in front of his people. To lead, you have to set the pace. You have to be a thought leader. The problem I have is that it is difficult for me to sit still. I have a hard time finding a long enough stretch in the day to sit down and really read. I keep getting interrupted—or distracted.
However, by downloading books onto my iPhone, I can listen to books while I’m working out. Honestly, there are days when I hate to stop running or exercising because I am so engrossed in my book. It makes the time fly by.
Though I don’t do it before breakfast, I have one other discipline that I try to practice daily: prayer. I find that the best time for me to pray is in the car. This was easy when I had a commute. It usually took 35–40 minutes, so I had plenty of time. Now, I take advantage of any trip in the car. It’s become my rolling “prayer closet.”
Thoughts on Forgiveness
When people go through a big change, as many people have of late, let’s just say that at such times it’s not always the best in people that comes out.
Within these changes, and their aftereffects, people have done things that hurt others. In times of uncertainty, it’s human nature to become rather self-preserving. People begin looking out for themselves much more, and thus they are not looking out for you very much, or as much as they did in the past, and that may hurt you. People in some cases have made commitments to others and then broken them later. Some people have felt that they were betrayed. All kinds of things have happened. Those hurts are real and can be very deep.
What all of these things do, sadly, is keep fellow believers from being the body of Christ that we need to be. It hurts faith and trust in one another. It damages something that is core to the Christian faith and to our mission, and that is our love for one another, and our demonstration of that love. Someone spoke in an earlier meeting about how people we have contact with and witness to can tell if we’re sincere and if we really walk the walk of Christianity that we claim to. They can see it in how we interact with one another. It shows, and it’s an important part of our witness.
When Christians feel and act unloving toward one another, it damages their testimony, hurts others, hurts them, and goes against what the Bible teaches.
The Epistles in particular have some tough things to say about loving your brothers—a message both for those who have done unloving things to others and also those who need to forgive others.
This commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.[1]
Lack of love, hurting others, doing things that cause love to die, are all detrimental. All of these things go against what Jesus asks of His followers and disciples. It’s very sad. But unfortunately, it happens. Throughout the years members of the Family Fellowship have been hurt. Maria and I are very sorry for any and all hurt that you may have experienced. We wish we all could be perfect people who never hurt others, but that’s not how people are; we are all sinners who fall short of what we would like to be.
I have this saying—I say it fairly often—and that is that people are people. Christian or not, people are not perfect. There’s none righteous except God. All have sinned.[2] That’s just the way it is. We’re human beings. We’re flawed. There’s nobody that’s perfect. None of us are loving all the time, unfortunately. We are truly flawed creatures. People are selfish. You are selfish. I’m selfish. We’re all human. We’re all sinners. We’ve all had people hurt us, and we’ve all hurt others as well.
When you are hurting, it’s hard to remember that you have hurt people as well. The hurt that you received hurts you, and that’s what you’re concerned about, because it’s your pain. But I think it’s important that you realize that there are people that you’ve hurt too, and that we all need forgiveness. You have been hurt and you’ve hurt others, and you’re going to get hurt in the future, and you’re going to hurt people in the future. That’s just life. I think that’s why the Lord said a fair bit in the Bible about forgiving.
“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven” (490 times).[3]
If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.[4]
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.[5]
The parable of the wicked servant in Matthew 18:23–35.[6]
I think it’s important to realize that some people who hurt you probably didn't know that they did; or they certainly didn’t know that they hurt you so deeply. They’ve moved on with their lives, and yet you still think of them in that context of when and how they hurt you, and you hold those things against them in your heart. Not only is it painful to you when you relive the hurt over and over again in your mind, but it’s actually damaging to you. It holds you back. It’s something that you need to let go of, and the way to let go is by forgiving.
I think there are very few people who deliberately set out to hurt others. It’s hard for me to believe that there are members of the Family International who wake up in the morning and say, “You know, I’m just gonna stomp on so-and-so today. I’m gonna go out of my way to be mean. I’m gonna do this to so-and-so because I want to hurt him.” Generally speaking, you go about the business of your day, just doing what you do, or you’re thinking about yourself, your own challenges and problems, and you end up doing something that hurts somebody. It’s unthoughtful, or unloving, but it wasn’t done on purpose or maliciously, and you may not realize the effect it has on others. But of course the person who happens to be hurt by your actions or words is affected and fully realizes it.
I’m sure that virtually everybody has some instance in mind where some person or persons did something to you that hurt, and you still remember it and it still affects you when you think about it. That’s a reality. There’s a pretty good chance, though, that you have also hurt other people to some extent or in some way, maybe without even being aware of it. People hurt people. That’s just the way that life is, because people are people.
So let’s go on the assumption that all of us have been hurt in some way at some time, and let’s also go on the assumption that we have also hurt other people in some way at some time. No matter how careful we are, no matter how much we try to not hurt people, we do. So we can assume that we are all sinners, and that we all need forgiveness, and that we all need to forgive.
When you forgive, you’re putting those things that are bothering you into the Lord’s hands and leaving them there—those things that work against you if you hold on to them. Not forgiving makes it difficult to progress, because it’s so easy to get stuck in this loop of “Things aren’t going good, and it’s so-and-so’s fault.” “I’m facing this problem because of what so-and-so did to me.” They may very well have done something that has affected you negatively and you may have the right to be angry. However, these events are in the past, and not forgiving is damaging you, not the person who hurt you. Something that happened in the past—whether days or months or years ago—is affecting you today and will continue to do so for as long as you keep reliving it again and again in your mind. For your own sake, you need to let it go, you need to get it behind you—and the way to do so is through forgiveness.
Now, that is not an easy thing to do. It’s also not necessarily an instant thing. You can pray, you can ask the Lord to work in your heart, you can say “I forgive,” and you can sincerely forgive; but even if you do all that, it doesn’t mean that those negative feelings go away forever immediately.
You may know the story of Corrie ten Boom, who was taken from her home during World War II and ended up in a concentration camp. She was treated very cruelly. She saw her sister die there. She saw friends die. Some time later, after the war ended, she went to a meeting at a church and one of the guards from the camp was there. He didn’t recognize her but she recognized him, and seeing him brought back terrible memories. During the course of the meeting he asked her for forgiveness. She had to make a decision right on the spot—was she going to forgive him? She took the step to forgive.
She said the process of being freed from the hurt of some past event can be compared to the ringing of those big church bells. It takes a lot of effort to pull the ropes to get them ringing, and then once they’re ringing, when you let go of the rope, the bell doesn’t stop ringing immediately. It continues to ring until the momentum of the bell finally stops. You let go of the rope and it still goes ding ... ding …. ding ….. ding …... and eventually it stops.
You can forgive, and when you do, you let go of the rope; but all your negative feelings don’t necessarily go away immediately. It can take time, and you have to fight to stop thinking about them. Even once they are largely gone, from time to time something happens, or somebody says something, and the memories resurface and it comes at you again. But if you have forgiven, if you have truly given it to the Lord and forgiven someone, it is forgiven. You’ve done what you needed to do. If it comes up again, you may have to fight against those feelings again, and you should, but you have forgiven.
Having thus learned to forgive in this hardest of situations, I wish I could say I never again had difficulty in forgiving! I wish I could say that merciful and charitable thoughts just naturally flowed from me from then on. But they didn’t. If there’s one thing I’ve learned at 80 years of age, it’s that I can’t store up good feelings and behaviour—but only draw them fresh from God each day.
Maybe I’m glad it’s that way. For every time I go to Him, He teaches me something else. I recall the time, some 15 years ago, when some Christian friends whom I loved and trusted did something which hurt me. You would have thought that, having forgiven the Nazi guard, this would have been child’s play. It wasn’t. For weeks I seethed inside. But at last I asked God again to work His miracle in me. And again it happened: First the cold-blooded decision to obey, then the flood of joy and peace. I had forgiven my friends; I was restored to my Father.
Then why was I suddenly awake in the middle of the night, hashing over the whole affair again? My friends! I thought. People I loved! If it had been strangers, I wouldn’t have minded so.
I sat up and switched on the light. “Father, I thought it was all forgiven! Please help me to do it!”
But the next night I woke up again. The negative thoughts returned. They’d talked so sweetly too! Never a hint of what they were planning. “Father!” I cried in alarm. “Help me!”
His help came in the form of a kindly pastor to whom I confessed my failure after two sleepless weeks. “Up in that church tower,” he said, nodding out the window, “is a bell which is rung by pulling on a rope. But you know what? After the sexton lets go of the rope, the bell keeps on swinging. First ding then dong. Slower and slower until there’s a final dong and it stops.
“I believe the same thing is true of forgiveness. When we forgive someone, we take our hand off the rope. But if we’ve been tugging at our grievances for a long time, we mustn’t be surprised if the old angry thoughts keep coming for a while. They’re just the ding-dongs of the old bell slowing down.”
And so it proved to be. There were a few more midnight reverberations, a couple of dings when the subject came up in my conversation. But the force—which was my willingness in the matter—had gone out of them. They came less and less often and at last stopped altogether. And so I discovered another secret of forgiveness: that we can trust God not only above our emotions, but also above our thoughts.
—Corrie ten Boom (Excerpt from “I’m Still Learning to Forgive”)
[1] 1 John 4:21 ESV.
See also: 1 John 4:20; 1 John 3:10–12, 14–15, 16–18; 1 John 2:9–11.
[2] As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10 ESV).
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23 ESV).
[3] Matthew 18:21–22 ESV.
[4] Matthew 6:14–15 ESV.
[5] Ephesians 4:32 ESV.
[6] The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, “Pay what you owe.” So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.
Copyright © 2012 The Family International.
Exceptional Service
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Life on earth is hard, there’s no doubt about that. I understand this because I experienced it. It doesn’t matter what your age or your career or where you live, life has its difficulties and trials for everyone.
I know it’s difficult to understand why I allow tests and trials. Why don’t I make life easier? Why are there always difficulties and problems to solve? Whether it’s with family, career, finances, health, or the daily fight to be a true Christian, it seems battles of some degree are par for the course. Through solving problems, you learn and you become better. You become a better wife or husband; you become a better parent, better at your career, and a better reflection of My Spirit.
You might not feel like you’re getting better, but everything you go through, each battle you fight and learn from, is giving you valuable experience. You’re being taught how to face the next challenge with more understanding. The fact that you continue to tackle life’s difficulties and find solutions to them through looking to Me is one of your greatest strengths.
To avoid all problems in life is not the goal. To never have to do anything difficult or demanding is not realistic. You, My children, have battles and hardships, but the important thing to remember is that you also have spiritual and practical training that helps you to handle life’s trials with grace, patience, and perseverance. You have Me, My Word, and all the help I can give you from the spirit world—and that’s a lot of help. You don’t have to try to figure out everything, because I’m here to help you. You’re not alone in your hard work of reaching your goals, because I’m always around to counsel you and show you what to do.
You have the guidance and encouragement of My Word to help you through any battle, and still keep your sanity and peace of mind, no matter how long it takes to reach the victory. Yes, some battles are very stressful to fight, and you might wonder if you’re going to make it and if you will still be sane when you emerge from them. But you can always count on peace of mind. I will keep in perfect peace all who trust in Me, all whose thoughts are fixed on Me!1
So many who don’t know Me personally feel lost and at the end of their rope and their mental capacity to hold on. They don’t have the firm ground of the rock of My Word to stand on. You do, and you always will. So when you’re in the heat of battle, rememberthat you will make it and I will pull you through. You never have to fear that you’re going to be lost or sink into oblivion, no matter how intense the battles or pressures of life, because I am strong to hold you fast.
You have to fight hard in order to make it through life’s tests; you have to work hard to be successful, and these things won’t change. If you’re thinking, “Pretty soon everything will be easy and I won’t have to fight hard anymore,” then you’ll be in for disappointment. You will always have to fight hard to stay close to Me and to continue to be successful in your service for Me, but you will get stronger along the way.
You are more skilled at spiritual battle than you realize. You have to get desperate with Me for the anointing you need to carry on with your career and other responsibilities, as well as being a Christian and a witness for Me. That takes a lot of faith, a lot of perseverance, a lot of love for Me and others, a lot of dedication and commitment, and a high amount of conviction. I commend you highly for your excellent service. Even if it’s not full-time service, if it’s quality, it’s exceptional, because it’s from your heart, and I will take and use whatever you give Me. I will multiply your efforts and use you where you will be most fruitful and effective. I’m proud of you and I commend you for playing a valuable part in My kingdom.
I know that your particular circumstances may make it difficult, and even though battles will continue to be part of life, I want you to know that I am here for you. I promise to give you grace and anointing that will help you in the many battles that you fight. I can’t take the trials away, because they’re part of life, and you need them to help you to continue learning and to be stronger, but I can help you to learn quickly and to fight effectively. And I will, because I love you and need you.
You are being strengthened when you do your best to live your faith each day. You are valuable to Me and to the lost of the world. You may not fully realize how important and valuable your role as a witness for Me is, but it is important.
*
I have chosen you out of the world.2 I said that to My first disciples long ago, and I say it to you now. Meditate on what that means. One of its meanings is that I have chosen you to come out of the world in spirit—to become one who is not living for the values of this world, but for those of the spiritual world.
Yours is a legacy that will last for eternity—the legacy of a disciple of Jesus, of a believer in that which is unseen. Someday all will be revealed; the now invisible will become apparent. In that day, those who believed by faith will be truly blessed.3 Those who chose not to believe or follow what they couldn’t perceive with their natural mind will have regrets, while you who choose to follow Me in faith, to live a life based on faith, will enter into rewards which will make every test of life worth the cost.
*
Learn from great men and women of bygone years, those who fought for a great cause, those who gave for the betterment of mankind, those who came to their personal limit and then gave a little more. Their testimonies will inspire you.
Remember that decisions to take just one more step, to give to just one more person, to help to fill a need just one more time, are the daily building blocks of a godly life. Subtly, over time, your character is being formed and your temperament is being fashioned. Those tiny and sometimes even unnoticed decisions to do good will slowly build your character, and will help you to reach your full potential as a man or woman of God.
Originally published March 2009. Updated and republished July 2012.
Read by Simon Peterson.
copyright@thefamilyinternational
1 Isaiah 26:3 NLT.
2 John 15:19.
3 John 20:29.
Who killed James Forrestal? by D.C. Dave
Who Killed James Forrestal? (short version)
by DCDave
Shades of Vincent Foster
The two highest-ranking government officials in the history of the American republic to have “committed suicide” are Deputy White House Counsel, Vincent W. Foster, Jr., on July 20, 1993, and Secretary of Defense, James V. Forrestal, on May 22, 1949. Actually, Forrestal was not a government official at the time of his death. He had been rather abruptly removed from office on March 28, and after almost immediately suffering some kind of breakdown, he had been kept against his will since April 2, a period of more than 7 weeks, on the 16th floor of the Bethesda Naval Hospital. Since he was no longer a government employee, it is unclear upon what authority he was being “cared for” at this U. S. military facility.
Equivocal Voice of Authority
It is perhaps a measure of how much more innocent a time it was in America in 1949 that, although such arguments against murder in the Forrestal case are far weaker than in the Foster case, the official suicide line seems to have gone generally unchallenged. Take, for instance, the reaction of the Forrestal family. Perhaps the person closest to James Forrestal in the whole world was his brother, Henry. This is from the obscure book, The Death of James Forrestal (1966), by Cornell Simpson, one of the few people who did question the suicide conclusion993, and Secretary of Defense, James V. Forrestal, on May 22, 1949. Actually, Forrestal was not a government official at the time of his death. He had been rather abruptly removed from office on March 28, and after almost immediately suffering some kind of breakdown, he had been kept against his will since April 2, a period of more than 7 weeks, on the 16th floor of the Bethesda Naval Hospital. Since he was no longer a government employee, it is unclear upon what authority he was being “cared for” at this U. S. military facility.
Though technically no longer a government official at the time of his death, Forrestal was a far more prominent and powerful man than Foster. Independently wealthy since his days as president of Dillon, Read, and Company on Wall Street, as Secretary of the Navy he had graced the cover of Time magazine on October 29, 1945. In September of 1947, even though he had opposed the legislation that created the department, Forrestal was made America’s first Secretary of Defense. Widely acclaimed as an extraordinarily dedicated and effective administrator, he rivaled Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, as the best known member of President Harry Truman’s cabinet.
Both Foster and Forrestal are said to have been suicidally depressed. Indeed, this is usually the first thing that will be mentioned when the matter of the death of either of these two men is brought up. The evidence that either of them was in such a disturbed mental state that he would resort to such an extreme solution is actually quite weak. In Foster’s case, it rests heavily upon the very doubtful authenticity of a disjointed, sophomoric note belatedly “found” in a briefcase that had previously been emptied out in full view of a number of people. In Forrestal’s case, the public was told in the very first press announcement of his death that he had stopped in the middle of copying over a classical poem, one that seems to welcome, in certain circumstances, the ending of one’s life. We have never been told how anyone knows that Forrestal actually wrote what he is said to have written, although author Arnold Rogow (James Forrestal, A Study of Personality, Politics, and Policy, 1963), the man most responsible for fixing in the public mind the notion that Forrestal was mentally unbalanced, has written, without the first bit of evidence for it, that Forrestal was seen writing it. Authors Townsend Hoopes and Douglas Brinkley (Driven Patriot, the Life and Times of James Forrestal, 1992) have also stated that Forrestal was seen writing it, but by a differentperson from the one cited by Rogow, although they give Rogow as their source. Curiously, nowhere on the public record are the actual would-be witness or witnesses themselves quoted directly on this matter.
Defenders of the official line on Foster’s death almost never refer to the known evidence. Rather, they allude to the “depression” as though it were a proven fact; they invoke authority, either the authority of the family, most of whom have publicly, at least, accepted the official conclusion, or of the authority of the various official “investigations” that have been made of his death; and they raise questions about the motive. If Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
Equivocal Voice of Authority
It is perhaps a measure of how much more innocent a time it was in America in 1949 that, although such arguments against murder in the Forrestal case are far weaker than in the Foster case, the official suicide line seems to have gone generally unchallenged. Take, for instance, the reaction of the Forrestal family. Perhaps the person closest to James Forrestal in the whole world was his brother, Henry. This is from the obscure book, The Death of James Forrestal (1966), by Cornell Simpson, one of the few people who did question the suicide conclusion:
At his home in Beacon, New York, Henry Forrestal stated to this author that James Forrestal positively did not kill himself. He said his brother was the last person in the world who would have committed suicide and that he had no reason for taking his life. When Forrestal talked to his brother at the hospital, James was having a good time planning the things he would do following his discharge. Henry Forrestal recalled that Truman and [new Defense Secretary Louis] Johnson agreed that his brother was in fine shape and that the hospital officials admitted that he would have been released soon. To Henry Forrestal, the whole affair smelled to high heaven. He remarked about his brother's treatment at the hospital, his virtual imprisonment and the censorship of his visitors. Henry Forrestal had never heard of such treatment and questioned why it should have been allowed. He further questioned why the hospital officials lied about his brother being permitted all the visitors he wanted.
He was bitter when recounting that from the first minute the officials had insisted the death was a result of suicide; that they did not even consider the possibility of murder even though there was no suicide note, though his brother acted perfectly normal when the corpsman saw him only a few minutes before his death, though the bathrobe cord was knotted tightly around his neck.
He considered it odd that his brother had died just a few hours before he, Henry, was to arrive and take James out of the hospital.
Then he repeated his belief that James Forrestal did not kill himself; that he was murdered; that someone strangled him and threw him out the window. Henry Forrestal went on to ask why the authorities did not have the decency to admit these things and then try to apprehend the murderer. He lamented the fact that the case was hurriedly hushed up in an apparent attempt to avoid a scandal.
He went on to say that he was a Democrat but nevertheless he blamed the Truman administration for covering up his brother's murder, for letting it happen, and for the way James Forrestal was treated in the hospital. He concluded that he was "damned bitter" about it all but did not know what he could do.
When family members of victims don’t agree with the official line, whether it be this case or the Oklahoma City bombing, TWA 800, Pan Am 103, the Martin Luther King, Jr. murder, or 9-11, we seldom hear much about it in our press. The Forrestal death is an outstanding example of that rule.
The press also typically gives great attention to the findings of any official body that has been appointed to make an investigation. The heavily-touted Warren Commission is the best-known instance of this phenomenon. In the Foster death it was first a report by Robert Fiske and then one by Kenneth Starr.
So what do we have with the Forrestal death? It’s the Willcutts Review Board, named for Rear Admiral Morton D. Willcutts, the head of the National Naval Medical Center. The Review Board took the testimony of all witnesses and finished its work on May 30. It was not until October 11, however, that its conclusions were released to the public, and here’s what was discovered, as related on page 15 of The New York Times of October 12, 1949:
That the body found on the ledge outside of Building 1 of the National Medical Center at 1:50 A.M. and pronounced dead at 1:55 A.M. Sunday, May 22, 1949, was identified as that of the late James V. Forrestal, a patient in the neuropsychiatric service of the United States Naval Hospital National Medical Center.
That the late James V. Forrestal died about 1:50 A.M. on Sunday, May 22, 1949, at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, as a result of injuries, multiple extreme, received incident to a fall from a high point in the tower, Building 1.
That the behavior of the deceased during the period of the stay in the hospital preceding his death was indicative of a mental depression.
That the treatment and precautions in the conduct of the case were in agreement with accepted psychiatric practice and commensurate with the evident status of the patient at all times.
That the death was not caused in any manner by the intent, fault, negligence or inefficiency of any person or persons in the naval service or connected therewith.
That’s it, folks. NoticeThat’s it, folks. Notice what’s missing. There is no conclusion of suicide. They just tell us that Forrestal died from a fall from a high point in the building and that he had been depressed, but they don’t say who was responsible for the fall. They don’t even make mention of the dressing gown sash that was knotted tightly around the body’s neck, so they don’t have to explain it. There was no police investigation, so this is the official last word on Forrestal’s death. The findings upon which these conclusions are based were kept secret, and they remain secret to this day. If anyone did, indeed, witness Forrestal transcribing words from a poem onto a notepad shortly before he took his fatal plunge, it would be in the Review Board testimony. The authors Hoopes and Brinkley, in their extensive Forrestal biography, concealed from the readers the fact that this report has never been made public. Rogow mentioned the fact in passing in a footnote and made nothing of it, as though such things were routine and acceptable in this government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Finally, there is the matter of the motive and the likely suspects. It is no mystery at all who Forrestal’s greatest enemies were and who benefitted immensely from his death.
Strong Motives, Prime Suspects what’s missing. There is no conclusion of suicide. They just tell us that Forrestal died from a fall from a high point in the building and that he had been depressed, but they don’t say who was responsible for the fall. They don’t even make mention of the dressing gown sash that was knotted tightly around the body’s neck, so they don’t have to explain it. There was no police investigation, so this is the official last word on Forrestal’s death. The findings upon which these conclusions are based were kept secret, and they remain secret to this day. If anyone did, indeed, witness Forrestal transcribing words from a poem onto a notepad shortly before he took his fatal plunge, it would be in the Review Board testimony. The authors Hoopes and Brinkley, in their extensive Forrestal biography, concealed from the readers the fact that this report has never been made public. Rogow mentioned the fact in passing in a footnote and made nothing of it, as though such things were routine and acceptable in this government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Finally, there is the matter of the motive and the likely suspects. It is no mystery at all who Forrestal’s greatest enemies were and who benefitted immensely from his death.
Strong Motives, Prime Suspects
When someone dies violently and suspiciously, the usual question investigators want to answer is if anyone had a murder motive. Did the deceased have enemies? Had he been threatened by anyone? Was there anyone who stood to gain from his death? If so, did the party or parties in question have anything in their past to indicate that they might be capable of murder, and did they have the opportunity to commit the crime?
In Forrestal’s case, the answers are yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. For over a year he had been subject to a vilification campaign in the press the likes of which hardly any public official has ever had to endure in America. Leading the campaign, from the left and the right, respectively, were America’s two best-known and most powerful syndicated columnists, Drew Pearson and Walter Winchell. They painted Forrestal as a corrupt tool of Wall Street and the oil companies who put the interests of his cronies ahead of concern for the well being of refugees from European persecution. His big offense was that he was outspoken in his opposition to the creation of the state of Israel. The entire foreign policy establishment, led by Secretary of State Marshall, felt the same way, but the strong-willed Forrestal was the lightning rod for the supporters of Israel. He had received threatening telephone calls and he complained of being followed and electronically bugged. It has also been credibly reported that the Zionists attempted to blackmail him over the financial assistance that his investment banking firm, Dillon, Read, had given to the Nazis prior to World War II.
One might argue that because Israel had already been recognized by the United States by the time Forrestal died, and because he had been removed from the Truman cabinet and discredited by his breakdown and hospitalization, he was no longer a threat to the supporters of Israel. But he was a man of prominence, wealth, and determination who intended to buy a newspaper and to write a book that threatened to expose a number of Roosevelt-Truman administration secrets, especially related to the machinations that brought the United States into World War II and the wartime policies that advanced the interests of the Soviet Union. His voluminous diary was confiscated by the Truman White House and its full contents have never been revealed.
Most importantly, though, it was feared that he would continue to work against the interests of Israel. The animus toward Forrestal continues to the present day in Zionist circles, who continue to characterize this most able and dedicated of public servants as an anti-Semite and a nut.
If anyone within the Truman White House had anything to do with Forrestal’s death, the most likely suspect would be the shadowy string-puller David Niles, a man with connections both to the Zionists and to the Communists. The previously mentioned author, Simpson, sees him as a likely suspect primarily because of his Communist affinities, and Simpson provides us with a laundry list of outrages perpetrated by the Communists in pursuit of world domination. But one should not overlook the ruthless record of the Israelis, from the assassinations of Lord Moyne and Count Bernadotte and the bombing of the King David Hotel, all of which pre-dated the Forrestal death, right up to the more recent massacres in Qana and Jenin and the systematic assassination of Palestinian leaders.
And although the communists might well have had many infiltrators in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, no one has ever suggested that they dominate America’s news media. It is the news media that has vigorously sold the story that James Forrestal committed suicide and has kept silent about the fact that the only serious government investigation of the death has been kept secret from the American public. The news media also heavily publicized the books by Rogow and Hoopes and Brinkley, which sell the suicide line, but they published not one single review of the critical book by Cornell Simpson.
David Martin
May 28, 2003
Is Reiki Occultic? by Michael Gleghorn
"Is Reiki Occultic?"
I recently pulled up your website when a friend of mine told me she has a counseling center that practices Reiki. Wondering what Reiki was, I began to search it out. Despite all the Christian voices that support it, I refuse to buy into it, and I feel it is the Holy Spirit working in me. I emailed my friend and told her of my concerns. One of her responses was, "In my mind healing is ultimately the result of God's love, whether it is a doctor doing a heart transplant or a Reiki master transmitting love through themselves." She feels it is "God's action occurring in and through people."
Is it the work of God to transport some energy through our hands to someone else? Doesn't sound right. What it all sounds like to me is an occult type practice that people have tried to squeeze into a Christian box and it's not quite fitting!
Thanks for your letter. I'm assuming you've already read my article on Reiki, but if not, here is a link to it:www.probe.org/cults-and-world-religions/reiki.html.
I begin the article by briefly considering what Reiki is. I then look at whether or not there is scientific support for Reiki. I consider the success claims of Reiki, ask whether Christians should be concerned about it, and also whether all healing comes from God. If you haven't yet read the article, I would encourage you to do so.
Like you, I think there are reasons for Christians to be concerned about Reiki. For one thing, as it's often represented, it has a very different understanding of "God" than biblical Christianity. Thus, when it claims that healing comes from "God," it is asserting something different from what a Christian would mean when he/she claims to have been healed by God. Second, the emphasis on spirit guides should cause us concern. The Bible never tells us to seek a spirit guide, but often warns us of deceptive and demonic spirits. Third, the Bible doesn't talk about a universal life force energy which we can learn to manipulate for health and healing. This sort of language is very foreign to a biblical worldview and is only at home (really) in an Eastern worldview, or one influenced by Eastern thought.
For these reasons and others (spelled out in my article), I think it's a mistake to get involved with Reiki. My perspective would really be the same as yours. Reiki sounds like "an occult type practice that people have tried to squeeze into a Christian box and it's not quite fitting."
I would gently challenge your friend to consider the many ways in which Reiki beliefs and practices seem so foreign (and even contrary) to the teachings of the Bible. For a bible-believing Christian, Reiki seems like a difficult practice to justify.
I hope this helps a bit. Please see my article for a bit moreinformation.
Shalom in Christ,
Michael Gleghorn
© 2008 Probe Ministries
I recently pulled up your website when a friend of mine told me she has a counseling center that practices Reiki. Wondering what Reiki was, I began to search it out. Despite all the Christian voices that support it, I refuse to buy into it, and I feel it is the Holy Spirit working in me. I emailed my friend and told her of my concerns. One of her responses was, "In my mind healing is ultimately the result of God's love, whether it is a doctor doing a heart transplant or a Reiki master transmitting love through themselves." She feels it is "God's action occurring in and through people."
Is it the work of God to transport some energy through our hands to someone else? Doesn't sound right. What it all sounds like to me is an occult type practice that people have tried to squeeze into a Christian box and it's not quite fitting!
Thanks for your letter. I'm assuming you've already read my article on Reiki, but if not, here is a link to it:www.probe.org/cults-and-world-religions/reiki.html.
I begin the article by briefly considering what Reiki is. I then look at whether or not there is scientific support for Reiki. I consider the success claims of Reiki, ask whether Christians should be concerned about it, and also whether all healing comes from God. If you haven't yet read the article, I would encourage you to do so.
Like you, I think there are reasons for Christians to be concerned about Reiki. For one thing, as it's often represented, it has a very different understanding of "God" than biblical Christianity. Thus, when it claims that healing comes from "God," it is asserting something different from what a Christian would mean when he/she claims to have been healed by God. Second, the emphasis on spirit guides should cause us concern. The Bible never tells us to seek a spirit guide, but often warns us of deceptive and demonic spirits. Third, the Bible doesn't talk about a universal life force energy which we can learn to manipulate for health and healing. This sort of language is very foreign to a biblical worldview and is only at home (really) in an Eastern worldview, or one influenced by Eastern thought.
For these reasons and others (spelled out in my article), I think it's a mistake to get involved with Reiki. My perspective would really be the same as yours. Reiki sounds like "an occult type practice that people have tried to squeeze into a Christian box and it's not quite fitting."
I would gently challenge your friend to consider the many ways in which Reiki beliefs and practices seem so foreign (and even contrary) to the teachings of the Bible. For a bible-believing Christian, Reiki seems like a difficult practice to justify.
I hope this helps a bit. Please see my article for a bit moreinformation.
Shalom in Christ,
Michael Gleghorn
© 2008 Probe Ministries
What Is Reiki? by Michael Gleghorn
Reiki
Written by Michael Gleghorn
This article is also available in Spanish.
What is Reiki?
In the past twenty-five years there has been a huge increase in both the general acceptance and public availability of various types of alternative health therapies. Although some of these therapies may be beneficial, others do little good, and some are downright harmful. Under the broad umbrella of alternative medicine there are a variety of therapies that might loosely be referred to as "energy medicine":
Energy medicine is a broad field covering a variety of therapies from many parts of the world. While each is based on the existence of a nonphysical energy pervading the universe, the nature of the energy, the form of therapies, and how healing is believed to take place varies from culture to culture.{1}
This energy is variously referred to as prana in India, chi in China, and ki in Japan. One form of energy medicine that has been growing in popularity is called Reiki. According to some, rei means "universal," and ki means "life force energy." But the International Center for Reiki Training goes further, declaring that "Rei" is more accurately understood to mean "supernatural knowledge or spiritual consciousness . . . the wisdom that comes from God or the Higher Self." Thus, according to the Center, "it is the God-consciousness called Rei that guides the life force called Ki in the practice we call Reiki."{2}
Reiki was discovered, or perhaps rediscovered, by Dr. Mikao Usui during a mystical experience at a mountain retreat in early twentieth century Japan. Some claim it is the same method of healing used by both the Buddha and Jesus, although the records of this have been lost.{3}
So how does Reiki work? To put it generally, and somewhat simply, Reiki claims to work by removing obstructions to the free flow of life force energy throughout the body. Such obstructions, which arise through negative thoughts, actions, and feelings, are believed to be the fundamental cause of illness and disease. But "Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way."{4} In this way, Reiki is believed to enhance physical, mental and emotional health.
In order to tap into this power and learn to channel Reiki one must first receive four attunements from a Reiki Master during a First Degree Reiki training session. These attunements are alleged to open "subtle mental and physical energy systems" that prepare the recipient "to channel Universal Life Force Energy."{5} Supposedly, this creates a permanent connection with Reiki, thus allowing the recipient to channel this energy for life.
At this point, some may be wondering if there is any scientific evidence that corroborates the existence of this energy. Let's look at the evidence.
Is there Scientific Support for Reiki?
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some proponents of life force energy claimed it was a form of electromagnetic radiation (of which light and heat are familiar examples).{6} Of course, electromagnetic radiation is a real, physical phenomenon of the world in which we live. But should it be identified with life force energy? The answer is no, and today most of those who believe in such energy would say the same. After all, such energy is generally believed to be non-physical. But electromagnetic radiation is a form of physical energy.
Still, many Reiki practitioners believe that good evidence supports the existence of life force energy. For example, the aura is said to be "a field of subtle life-force energy that surrounds the body of every living being."{7} Those properly attuned to this energy often claim that they can feel a person's aura. A few even claim to see auras.
But it's one thing to make such a claim, quite another to demonstrate it under properly supervised conditions. In one study, ten people who claimed to see auras were tested against a control group of ten people who made no such claim. "Four identical screens were placed in a room with volunteers who took turns standing behind one or another of them."{8} Those who claimed to see auras believed that they could detect which screen the volunteer was standing behind. But out of 720 attempts, they only gave 185 correct answers -- an accuracy rate consistent with guessing. The control group, however, gave 196 correct answers -- eleven more than those who claimed to see auras! Apparently, not everyone who claims to see auras can actually demonstrate this claim.
But haven't auras been photographed? One author claims, "Kirlian photography . . . enables us to . . . photograph auras."{9} However, when such photographs are investigated by independent scientists, the images are seen to have a completely physical explanation. Also, Kirlian auras have been recorded for some things not usually believed to have a field of life force energy, like pennies and paper clips. Such evidence casts doubt on the claim that auras have been photographed.
Thus, if there is such a thing as life force energy, it has so far eluded the detection of scientists. Such energy may still exist, and science may one day verify as much. But for now, scientific support is lacking. Still, some argue that "the proof of whether a therapeutic procedure is effective rests not on the gathering of data alone but on the client's actual experience."{10} In other words, if Reiki works, such life force energy must exist!
What About Reiki's Success?
For many people, the most powerful evidence of Reiki's effectiveness as an alternative health therapy are the testimonials of those who claim to have been personally helped by it. Consider what happened to Alex. He was in chronic pain due to a motorcycle accident that resulted in three crushed vertebrae. He attended a Reiki class, and after his first initiation was free of persistent pain!{11}
How does one explain such a story? Does it prove that Reiki really works? While it cannot be denied that there is abundant anecdotal evidence of Reiki's healing power, we must be very careful before we credit Reiki with relieving Alex's pain. "With the exception of unsubstantiated opinion, anecdotal evidence is the least useful...evidence available to judge medical therapies."{12}
This isn't just the opinion of conventional Western medicine. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine acknowledges that there is a "hierarchy in the different types of evidence for therapies, with anecdotal at the bottom."{13} Thus, anecdotal evidence counts for something, but it hardly proves that Reiki is an effective method of healing.
So how might we explain Alex's pain relief? Although there are various possibilities, for the sake of time we will only mention two. First, we must honestly acknowledge that maybe Reiki was responsible for the elimination of Alex's pain. After all, it was immediately after receiving Reiki that Alex felt relief. However, it's crucial to recognize that there is another very sensible and well-documented explanation. Quite simply, Alex's pain relief may have been due to the "placebo effect."
"The placebo effect is the combination of factors that give therapies beneficial effects, but which are not caused by any direct physiological action."{14} A classic example is the sugar pill. In itself it can neither cure illness nor relieve pain. However, when given to a patient by a trusted, confident physician, who says it's just what the patient needs to recover from his or her ailments, it can be incredibly effective in relieving a wide variety of psychosomatic disorders. Since such disorders have a psychological or emotional (rather than physiological) cause, they can be relieved without directly treating the patient's body.
Many studies indicate that the placebo effect can account for a full third (or more) "of the improvements found with any therapy."{15} But can it explain Alex's sudden relief from pain? Indeed it can. Pain can be treated very effectively with placebos.
Of course, some may argue that the really important thing is not so much why Alex was healed, but simply that he was healed! To some degree, I can sympathize with this argument. But it does have problems.
Should Christians Be Concerned About Reiki?
Most people, myself included, consider physical health to be good and valuable. All things being equal, it's better to be healthy than sick. But if this is so, then does it really matterhow, or why, the sick are healed? Isn't the only important thing simply that they're healed? And how can anyone object to Reiki if it helps accomplish this?
These are important questions and they deserve a sympathetic response. But first, let's consider an important question: Is physical health always preferable to sickness? After all, most people consider such qualities as compassion, patience, courage, and love to be great and noble virtues. But what if there were people who could only acquire such virtues through the pain and suffering brought on by physical illness? So long as they're healthy, they will lack these virtues. But if they're sick, they will acquire them. Let me suggest that if you truly value these virtues, you might decide that it's better to be morally and spiritually healthy (though physically sick), than physically healthy alone.
Let's now return to our initial question. Does it really matterif, how, and why Reiki works? I think it does. Suppose there is no genuine power in Reiki. Suppose it "works" merely as a placebo. In that case, would you want to send a loved one to a Reiki practitioner to be treated for strep throat? Without proper treatment this would likely result in rheumatic fever, permanent heart disease, and maybe even death. Real antibiotics are needed; a placebo cannot cure this kind of infection.{16} Under circumstances such as these, I suspect that no one would want their loved ones treated by Reiki alone.
But now suppose that there is genuine power in Reiki. Is it not important to know where this power comes from andwhat it is? What if Reiki offers physical health only at the expense of spiritual health? Should Christians be concerned about this?
The International Center for Reiki Training describes Reiki as "spiritually guided life force energy."{17} After receiving the necessary attunements, a Reiki practitioner can channel this energy for life. The Center describes the attunement process as "a powerful spiritual experience" that "is guided by the Rei or God-consciousness." What's more, this experience "is also attended by Reiki guides and other spiritual beings who help implement the process."{18}
What are Christians to make of this? Should we be concerned about the nature of this attunement process? Exactly who, or what, are these Reiki spirit guides? Should we be cautious about becoming involved with these spirits? Or should we simply trust that they're doing God's work? After all, doesn't all healing come from God?
Does All Healing Come From God?
Does all healing come from God? The International Center for Reiki Training declares that "Reiki comes from God."{19}But if we read the material on their Web site, we see that the Center advocates an Eastern or New Age view of "God." This view is radically different from that of the Bible. For example, the Center equates "God" with man's Higher Self, thus blurring the distinction between God and humanity that is taught in the Bible. Practically speaking, this difference between the God of the Bible and the "God" of Eastern or New Age philosophy means that adherents of these two systems are asserting something very different when they claim to have been healed by God.
The God of the Bible is a personal being, capable of miraculously healing people according to His will (Exod. 15:26). Nevertheless, the Bible does not teach that all signs and wonders come from God. On the contrary, Jesus warned His disciples that in the last days there would be false Christs and false prophets who would show great signs and wonders (Matt. 24:24). In his second letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul linked such events to the power of Satan (2 Thess. 2:9).
But does Satan have the power to perform marvelous healings? Indeed, it appears that he might. In Revelation 13 we learn that after receiving power from Satan, the beast is healed of a near-fatal head wound (vv. 2-3). The context seems to imply that this amazing healing is the work of Satan. From a biblical perspective, this raises an important question about the healing power of Reiki. Exactly where does this healing energy come from?
We've already seen that there is not convincing evidence to regard this energy as a physical phenomenon. Biblically, this seems to leave only two main options. Either the energy comes from God, or it does not. Although the International Center for Reiki Training declares that "Reiki comes from God," we've already seen that this cannot be the God of the Bible. Is it possible, then, that the source of this energy is demonic?
As I mentioned previously, the ability to channel life force energy involves first going through an attunement process. The Center claims that these attunements are attended "by Reiki guides and other spiritual beings who help implement the process."{20} Is it possible that by involving themselves with spirit guides, Reiki practitioners may unwittingly be opening themselves, as well as their patients, to demonic influences? Although it may not be possible to categorically affirm that the source of Reiki energy medicine is demonic, the Bible, in condemning all forms of spiritism, does seem to at least allow for this possibility (see Lev. 19:31; 20:6; Deut. 18:9-14; Acts 16:16-18). Therefore, it seems to me that Christians should take the wiser, safer, and probably even healthier course of action, and carefully avoid all involvement with Reiki energy medicine.
Notes
1. Donald O'Mathuna & Walt Larimore, Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2001), 193.
2. "Reiki FAQ: What is Reiki?" atwww.reiki.org/FAQ/WhatIsReiki.html. 3. Gary P. Stewart, et al. Basic Questions on Alternative Medicine: What is Good and What is Not? (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1998), 61.
4. "Reiki FAQ: How Does Reiki Work?" atwww.reiki.org/FAQ/HowDoesReikiWork.html.
5. David F. Vennells, Reiki for Beginners: Mastering Natural Healing Techniques (St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 2000), 41-42.
6. Mathuna & Larimore, Alternative Medicine, 195. I have relied heavily on the chapter on "Energy Medicine," pp. 193-99, in this section.
7. Vennells, Reiki for Beginners, 106.
8. Mathuna & Larimore, Alternative Medicine, 197.
9. Vennells, Reiki for Beginners, 106.
10. Libby Barnett, Maggie Chambers and Susan Davidson,Reiki Energy Medicine (Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts Press, 1996), 15.
11. Ibid., 29.
12. Mathuna & Larimore, Alternative Medicine, 115. I have relied heavily on chapter 10, "How Science Tests Therapies and Remedies," in this section.
13. Ibid., 116.
14. Ibid., 118.
15. Ibid., 124.
16. John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House Publishers, 1996), 487.
17. "Reiki FAQ: What is Reiki?" atwww.reiki.org/FAQ/WhatIsReiki.html.
18. "Reiki FAQ: Learning Reiki" atwww.reiki.org/FAQ/LearningReiki.html.
19. "Reiki FAQ: What is Reiki?" atwww.reiki.org/FAQ/WhatIsReiki.html.
20. "Reiki FAQ: Learning Reiki" atwww.reiki.org/FAQ/LearningReiki.html.
© 2003 Probe Ministries.
About the Author
Michael Gleghorn is a research associate with Probe Ministries. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Baylor University and a Th.M. in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Before coming on staff with Probe, Michael taught history and theology at Christway Academy in Duncanville, Texas. Michael and his wife Hannah have two children. His personal website is michaelgleghorn.com.What is a Christian Perspective on Reiki? by Michael Gleghorn
My friend is a Christian who practices Reiki and thinks that it's the Holy Spirit working through her. She has a heart for healing and I don't want to discourage her from pursuing that or deny that the Spirit is at work in her. But I fear that these counterfeits are keeping her from realizing her true potential in Christ.
I guess I have two questions: how can I lovingly discuss with her what the Bible says about these practices, when she doesn't fully accept it as God's Word; and can you tell me more about Reiki from a Christian perspective?
Thanks for your questions. It's terribly difficult to reason with someone from the Scriptures if they do not already accept their Divine authority. If she's open to doing some reading in the area, you may want to encourage her to look into what conservative scholarship has said about the inspiration, authority, and inerrancy of Scripture. A General Introduction to the Bible, by Norman Geisler and William Nix is a fairly exhaustive treatment of the subject. Many books on Christian apologetics have chapters dealing with the trustworthiness of the Bible. One book you may want to recommend is I'm Glad You Asked, by Ken Boa and Larry Moody. It is an excellent, beginner's level text in apologetics and has a chapter entitled, "How Accurate is the Bible?," which might prove helpful. Suffice it to say, until a Christian accepts the Bible as the inspired word of God, it is difficult to use it as the final authority for proper Christian belief and practice. Such a person can always claim that the texts they don't like are simply not inspired by God, etc. Thus, this is a critical issue to deal with.
Having said that, I think you are exactly right about your friend. There are very good grounds for rejecting Reiki if one is willing to listen to the Bible. In a book entitled Basic Questions on Alternative Medicine, a corporate project by members of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1988), there is a short chapter on Reiki (pp. 61-63). I will draw some information from that chapter. Although Reiki claims to be an "ancient healing practice that Buddha (and Jesus) used," all records of it were lost. It was allegedly rediscovered by Mikao Usui, a Zen Buddhist monk, in the mid-1800s "during a psychic experience." Additionally, it is claimed that details about lost aspects of the practice have "been revealed through channeling." Channeling is the New Age term for mediumship and involves contact with, and usually possession by, "spirit guides." The authors of this chapter state that a second-degree Reiki practitioner "learns about spirit guides and how to contact and use them in healing sessions." They further state that third degree Reiki masters give "complete control of healing sessions to their spirit guides." Healing sessions appear to be based on the use of "life-energy" (i.e. ki, chi, or prana), which is sent from the practitioner into the patient's body.
The greatest concern would seem to be the identity of the "spirit guides." Since they are typically contacted in ways expressly forbidden in Scripture, and since they advocate unbiblical ideas and practices, it is honestly quite difficult to view them as anything other than the biblical demons. The authors of this chapter conclude by stating: "Reiki is antithetical to biblical Christianity. Channeling is a way of communicating with spirits to obtain information not otherwise accessible. It is denounced in the Bible as sorcery, mediumship, and spiritism (Lev. 19:26, 31; 20:6; Deut. 18:9-14...)."
It seems to me that Reiki has the potential to be spiritually harmful. I would pray for your friend and encourage her to give serious consideration to the biblical warnings mentioned above.
I wish you all the best with your friend.
Shalom,
Michael Gleghorn
Probe Ministries+ + + + +
A former Reiki master who has become a Christian wrote this testimony to Sue Bohlin:
"Reiki is something that is very mis-stated, and misunderstood, by those outside of the Reiki circle. Having been in it, I can tell you everything you need to know. I will tell you right up front that it was a hard one to shake, that it was VERY real and beneficial, but that it is decidedly non-Christian.
"I highly recommend anyone looking into it to just stop. Prayer is very powerful, and is our direct link to God through Christ. If we petition directly for healing, it may come. If we have faith that it WILL come, our chances are far better. As with anything we are to test, does Reiki point either the practitioner or the client to Christ? No. Big no. It uses a Universal energy that is non-personal and can be manipulated. You can pray to God, to the Earth Mother, to Mother/Father God, etc. But it in fact leads you AWAY from Christ.
"It is all about what you FEEL in your hands, what you FEEL in your spirit, what the client FEELS in their body/emotions/spirit. In that regard it is very very real. My hands get hot, I hit a place of extreme peace and quiet, I heal people who feel a tingle or hot spot or whatever. Their headache, menstrual cramps, emotional distress, bruises, whatever, goes away. But is God glorified? No way. Is self glorified? Yes.
"If it is so good and right, why do practitioners go on to other things once they hit Master level? The teacher who taught me was going on to accupuncture and other new Reiki teachings. Always something else, something new, something you NEED to be a true master. Sound familiar? It is like everything else in this world, but Christ. There is no lasting peace, no connection with the universe, there is a big void in your soul that is not going away. WE ALL NEED CHRIST! I told my wife when she questioned my stopping in my search for peace once I found Christ (she had followed my years of searching through New Age theologies, etc) that Jesus Christ filled the hole. All the puzzle pieces fell into place and everything suddenly made sense. For a long time after that I tried to make Reiki fit into Christianity but it didn't. I prayed a lot about it. God firmly and solidly showed me in Scripture how it couldn't work. The two major things against it, regardless of how well it works, are 1) it does not point anyone to Christ and in facts points people away from a single triune God, and 2) it is no different than all the pagan rituals in the Old Testament that would have people pray to the rain god or fertility god, etc. They must have worked or people wouldn't have kept praying to them, and God's people wouldn't have been attracted to them. But either way it isn't what GOD has asked us to do. Everything we need is in Him. We can pray for any healing we need."
About the Author
Michael Gleghorn is a research associate with Probe Ministries. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Baylor University and a Th.M. in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Before coming on staff with Probe, Michael taught history and theology at Christway Academy in Duncanville, Texas. Michael and his wife Hannah have two children. His personal website is michaelgleghorn.com.
What is Probe?
Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site atwww.probe.org.
Further information about Probe's materials and ministry may be obtained by contacting us at:
Probe Ministries
2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 2000
Plano TX 75075
(972) 941-4565
info@probe.org
www.probe.org
Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site atwww.probe.org.
Further information about Probe's materials and ministry may be obtained by contacting us at:
Probe Ministries
2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 2000
Plano TX 75075
(972) 941-4565info@probe.org
www.probe.org
